Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Let's Talk (About Mental Illness)

In the mid-to-end 1990s, following the telecom boom and as
the World Wide Web was just beginning to be used as a means for self-promotion,
companies were trying to present a more humane side by publicly showcasing the
benefits their employees could take advantage of, such as an in-house daycare
services (Patagonia, SAS) and gyms, multiple team-building
retreats per year (Philip Morris, Distributech), State of the Union-type
gatherings in exotic locations where spouses were welcome (Industrial Alliance, Toyota),
etc.

For many of these companies (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Industrial Light &
Magic), the ethical treatment of their employees translated into additional
sales; for others, however, additional expenses meant nearing the brink of
bankruptcy.

And, thus, because every major action brings forth an equal
reaction, the 00s brought with them budget tightening, with organizations
looking mainly to reduce what they saw as expenditures: wages, customer service,
free coffee, lowering their standards from “excellence” to “satisfying” or “good
enough”, extending their client base’s patience to its limit. Some cut on the
big expenditures such as rent, travel or daycare. Others, such as American
Apparel, saw their managers take on a more hands-on approach that was not
appreciated by their employees.

What we are left with in the wake of a noble idea like #BellLetsTalk is to bring attention to such
things as employee comfort and peace of mind, as work-related exhaustion and
depression now accounts for 90% of mental illness in North America, among other
overwhelming statistics such as:

Which brings me back to #BellLetsTalk,
a smart initiative and tool in de-stigmatizing mental illness in Canada, in
getting people to talk about it and trying to find solutions to the problem.
Marketing-wise, it’s also pure genius, as social media was saturated with Bell’s
brand name for an entire day in support of a great cause.

Writer, mostly, in mediums diverse and similar: musician, film-maker, poet - not the bad type, nor the pretentious type. It's more that I suck at everything except producing words and shouting ideas at people. Oh, and I'm the guy who brings you UnPop Montreal yearly, helping the little guy get a voice in this variety-deprived city.